After all, tomorrow is another day.
Title: After all, tomorrow is another day.
Pairing: Ernests Gulbis/Novak Djokovic
Other character: Andy Murray
Rating: PG
Word count: 2,145
Warning: A little bit of angst in the beginning
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this is a fiction.
Summary: Ernests nurses his sick boyfriend and realizes that he might have something else to worry about.
Author’s note: Just wrote a short piece, hoping it would be therapeutic. The story is set after Novak’s quarterfinal match in Melbourne this week and is written in Ernests’ POV. Please note that this fic is unbetaed so I apologize for any mistakes.
Knock-knock.
I almost jump out of my skin from the couch as I hear someone at the door. It’s past two in the morning and I can’t imagine anyone wanting to visit me or Nole.
“Who is it?” I ask, careful not to raise my voice. Nole just managed to fall asleep and I don’t want to wake him up because a stupid hotel employee decided to bother a guest at this time of the night.
“It’s Andy. Murray, that is.”
I quickly open the door at Nole’s friend’s voice. He must’ve come to check on our favorite Serb.
“Hi, Andy. Come in.”
“Sorry for dropping by this late, Ernie. I left Nole a couple of messages but I guess he didn’t pay any attention to his phone.”
“It’s okay. I was awake.”
Andy walks in with a very worried face and I’m glad that Nole has such a caring friend.
“Is he asleep?” He asks in a smaller voice.
Just when I was about to say yes, we both hear grunts coming from the bedroom.
“Oh no. He’s sick again.”
I run into the bedroom, only to see Nole run to the en suite bathroom.
“Jesus. Where did he get that pasta from? I’ll go rub his back if you don’t mind. You look exhausted.”
I nod and sit down on the bed. Yes, I am exhausted. Andy saw it right. Since last night, I have been alarmed at Nole’s form. He has a cold quite often so I didn’t worry too much about it but it apparently made him feel bad enough to have problems digesting pasta. And, when I saw on TV that he had left the court to go vomit, I knew that I’d be spending a horrible night, feeling like a useless boyfriend. I’ve already tried putting a hot towel on his belly, putting on some relaxing music and made sure that he took the meds the tournament doctor gave him but he has only gotten worse.
I hear him let out another painful sound and I put my hands over my ears. Oh, Nole… I wish I was the one holding onto the toilet bowl. For some reason, he hasn’t been successful in letting all the pasta out at once and he told me that his throat was sore for trying so much. Ah, I really hope he makes it this time.
“It’s okay. I got you.”
A healthy voice comes from the bathroom and I’m relieved that Andy came to give me a hand. Well, I am relieved but deep inside, I can’t help but wonder what a grand slam semi-finalist is doing here in the middle of the night. Does he have feelings for Nole? Or is it normal for a friend to check on another friend at 2 a.m. even when that friend has a boyfriend right next to him?
I know this is not the best time to get jealous and corner Nole with questions. As far as I know, he didn’t send any longing stares or inviting glances towards his Scottish friend, but I’d still feel better if I could hear him laugh at my stupid theory. Andy’s just rubbing Nole’s back in there, right? Not pressing his lips against my boyfriend’s hair or anything, right?
No matter what my head says, my gut tells me to go in there so I jump to my feet.
“He needs you.”
Andy’s head peeps out of the bathroom and I let out a sigh of relief. I guess I was just paranoid.
“I’m coming.”
I walk quickly past him before I ask him with an edge in my voice that I fail to hide, “Are you leaving?”
“Nah. I’ll fetch him a glass of water.”
He heads towards the mini-refrigerator and my lips twist in discontentment. Did he not notice my tone or did he pretend that he didn’t?
“Ernie?”
A small voice gets my attention and I hurry into the bathroom. My poor boyfriend is sitting on the floor with his back against the bathtub. He looks like a tired little boy in those sweaty pjs and my chest clenches at the painful sight.
“It’s too cold to sit on the tiles, baby. Let’s get you back to bed and I’ll help you get changed.”
I help him get up and we walk the short distance to the bed. He wasn’t feeling this bad when he had first walked into the room. But, as illness usually makes you feel, he has been feeling worse as it became late.
Knock-knock.
I hear another knock on the door and I immediately think about the possibility of facing another one of my rivals. Who would’ve expected such late night visits? I’m in for a surprise tonight! Who is it going to be this time?
I let go of Nole’s hand and get up from the bed but his voice makes me sit down again.
“Andy’s going to answer it. He said he’d get me some water with honey. It must be someone with honey at the door.”
“Ah.”
I leave the door to Andy and busy myself with pulling out some fresh pjs from the closet. While he takes off his pants, I undo the buttons on his chest.
“Don’t be sick, Nole. It kills me. I know you’re going to be fine in a matter of days but still, stay healthy for me.”
My last words come out more like a whisper. I don’t want the intruder to eavesdrop on our private conversation.
“Your water’s here.”
Speaking of the devil, he comes in with a small tray.
My hands work faster so Andy won’t get to see too much of my boyfriend’s skin. I’m known to change my shirts super quickly on court and I’m applying that skill here where it’s most needed.
Luckily, Andy doesn’t seem to peep at Nole’s body and puts down the tray on the bedside table.
“I don’t know what they give you in Serbia, but whenever I’m sick, granny gives me a warm glass of water with honey. It helps at times.”
Nole finishes putting on his pants and takes the mug in his hands. “Thanks, Andy. You should really go back now.”
Ha! You heard that? He wants you out of the room! Now leave!
I wish I could say it out loud but that would be too rude and indecent.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Let’s focus on you for now.”
Since he’s dumb enough not to get the message, I cut in. “But you have an important match tomorrow. A very important match.”
“It’s ok. It’s an evening match.” He shrugs.
“But we insist!” I drag Nole into it so that it would have a bigger impact on him.
Novak looks up at his friend and nods in agreement. Good boy!
“Okay then. I’ll leave you guys get some rest.”
Andy hesitates for a second before leaning down and giving my boyfriend a hug.
It’s just a friendly hug, no big deal. I keep telling myself until the short yet agonizing moment is over.
“Take care, pet. I’ll check on you tomorrow. Answer your phone.”
Excuse me? Pet? Excuse me??
My jaw drops as he musses up Nole’s hair and pats me on the shoulder before walking out of the room.
Pet? Do British people use that word for friends too? Maybe! But it sounded way too affectionate!
I feel like yelling out my frustration but I know better than anyone that Nole had enough of a hard day. The last thing he needs is a boyfriend that has gone wild with insane jealousy, so I take a deep breath and decide to play the supportive boyfriend.
“Thanks for coming over, Andy. I’m sure he really appreciates it.” I tell him when he’s about to open the door.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t check with you guys first. But I was really worried about him and had to see how he was doing.”
Damn. Why is he so nice? It would be easier to hate him if he wasn’t.
“It’s okay. Thanks for the help. Good night, Andy.”
“Good night.”
The minute I close the door, I can tell that the air is different with only Nole and me in the room. Ah, it’s easier to breathe now. I take two more nice deep breaths and head back to the bedroom.
Aww, he’s fallen asleep with his mug against his belly. Should I wake him up so he can finish his water? I ponder about it for a moment and choose not to.
“Mm… He’s gone?”
Too bad he opened his eyes when I grabbed the mug to pull out of his hands.
“Yeah. What a nice friend you have.”
I feel like adding something more but I don’t want him to notice what I suspect about Andy. He’ll probably tease me and I’ll pout and then he’ll tell me that he only has eyes for me anyway. That’s how things usually go.
“I can see it, you know.” He says with a smile as he drinks from his mug.
“See what?” I get under the covers next to him and turn off the main lights.
“When you get insecure and jealous.”
“I’m sure you can. You’re my boyfriend.” I reply innocently, pretending that I have no idea what he’s talking about.
“He’s just a caring friend, trust me. He has a thing for nursing people. He’ll kill me if I tell you this, but at some point, he even wanted to be a nurse.”
“Him? A nurse?”
Andy doesn’t exactly strike me as the type to have a great bedside manner, so I’m definitely surprised to hear this piece of news.
Nole finishes drinking while I keep trying to picture Andy in a nurse outfit. Meh, not an easy task even with my imagination.
“Normally, I’d tease you about how you narrowed your eyes at my poor friend and tried to kill him with the knife in your voice but it’s way past our bedtime so I think I’ll take a rain check.”
“Wow, you must be feeling much better now. Your sentence was extremely long.” I say, tongue in cheek, and turn off the last light in the room.
He cuddles up against me and it’s a new feeling. Usually, it’s me who does that.
“I’m sorry for what happened today. I know how special Melbourne is in your heart. Hate the fact that it happened here.”
I whisper against his hair and place a kiss on his forehead.
“It’s okay. Hopefully, I’ll have many more chances to come back here. And, I suppose we’ll have to stop having sex with the air-conditioner on. I think that what’s why I got a cold in the first place.”
I chuckle at the self-diagnosis. He’s probably right though. I had warned him that it wasn’t a good idea but he kept whining that the room was too hot to do anything properly. And, since I wanted him to perform properly, I had pressed that button of doom.
“Sleep tight, Nole. Wake me up if you need anything or feel worse, all right?” I say in my sweetest voice and he nods against my chest.
I’m thankful that I chose to stay in Melbourne for another week rather than heading to the States. I would’ve been devastated to stay away from him when he needed me the most. Plus, if I hadn’t been here, who knows what that Murray would’ve tried? He could’ve taken advantage of my sick Nole, promising him massages and who knows what else? He wanted to be a nurse? Pfft, as if I’ll buy that! I’ll have to keep a better eye on him.
I hug the guy I adore with all my heart, grateful that his sickness isn’t anything too serious or something that will last long. I’m sure his disappointment will take some time to get rid of, but he will forget about it once he enters another tournament.
Chu.
I kiss him on the head one more time before I relax, happy that he’s fallen asleep and that the torturous day is finally over. Ah, now I feel like Scarlet O’Hara, saying ‘After all, tomorrow is another day.’